Concealed carry in national parks

[High Desert]

So, I have been looking through various sites and still can't seem to sort out the answer regarding CC in National Parks, If I am licensed to carry in Oregon, can I carry concealed in other states national parks or am I limited to only the state I am issued in? Some sites say yes, some say no.

 

[NavyLCDR]

So, I have been looking through various sites and still can't seem to sort out the answer regarding CC in National Parks, If I am licensed to carry in Oregon, can I carry concealed in other states national parks or am I limited to only the state I am issued in? Some sites say yes, some say no.

It depends entirely upon whether or not your Oregon license is recognized by the state the National Park is in. Standing outside the gates of the National Park, if it is legal for you to conceal carry in the state you are standing in, then it is legal to conceal carry inside the gates of the National Park within that same state.

 

[Wes Robinson]

From Georgia Firearm, Knife, and Weapon Law Compendium - Robert Todd Bergin
"A license holder may carry in a National Park and a National Wildlife Refuge. On February 10, 2010, what is often referred to as "National Park Carry" wend into effect. Basically, if a license holder carries a permit or license that is recognized by the state in which the National Park or wildlife refuge is located, that license holder may carry on that property.
"Be careful, however. Most buildings in a National Forest, such as a ranger station or visitor center would be considered a federal building, and any open or concealed carry would be prohibited.

National Forests - same rules apply

This echos NavyLCDR's response in if state allows conceal carry, so will park.

 

[NavyLCDR]

You can also carry in a National Park with no license at all, if the state law you are standing in allows carry with no license. The law that went into effect in February, 2010 simply removed any additional restrictions inside National Parks above and beyond the normal state and Federal laws applicable to every day carry outside the National Park.

 

[mrjam2jab]

This also includes open carry.

 

[XD357grandpa]

Just remember, despite the ability to carry that firearm, it is still illegal to discharge it. This from the Yellowstone information page on guns in parks.

Yellowstone National Park - Laws & Policies (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[Tucker's Mom]

Listen to the experts of this forum as they may have experience. But still do your own research to back their claims. Know the limitation on your state.

 

[Booray]

Glad to find this thread! I have been wondering about this too!

Thanks all!

 

[radartech]

If it is illegal to discharge the weapon there has to be some law or code or something that identifies any exceptions....
Ideas?

 

[NavyLCDR]

If it is illegal to discharge the weapon there has to be some law or code or something that identifies any exceptions....
Ideas?

Link Removed

 

[radartech]

If it is illegal to discharge the weapon there has to be some law or code or something that identifies any exceptions....
Ideas?

Link Removed

Hmm... So what happens if you are carrying somewhere that is specifically forbidden in your state and you save lives. Based on this, it sounds like a hell of a defense .....

IE :
In both Carolina's you can't. Carry anywhere they serve alcohol. Applebee's etc.
So what if you carried and you stop an armed robber?
Or...
You are picking up kids at school and a crazy person starts shooting?


Lastly how about at a city park or sporting event like a little league game.....

Thoughts?

 

[NavyLCDR]

Hmm... So what happens if you are carrying somewhere that is specifically forbidden in your state and you save lives. Based on this, it sounds like a hell of a defense .....

IE :
In both Carolina's you can't. Carry anywhere they serve alcohol. Applebee's etc.
So what if you carried and you stop an armed robber?
Or...
You are picking up kids at school and a crazy person starts shooting?


Lastly how about at a city park or sporting event like a little league game.....

Thoughts?

You could be up a certain creek without a paddle. You could not be convicted of the shooting itself, because that was necessary for self-defense. However, at the time that you illegally took the gun into the prohibited place there was no immediate necessity to do so, so you could be charged with illegal possession of the gun. Maybe a defense that might work would be that the crime of the illegal possession was only discovered through an act of necessity and not due to reasonable suspicion or probable cause, but I doubt it. Your best bet would be to have a sympathetic prosecuting attorney.

BTW, In Washington it is perfectly legal for me to carry my gun while picking up or dropping of a student on school grounds.

 

[zacklmpd]

I know of a few parks here on Kentucky that state firearms only allowed during hunting seasons

 

[Stan45]

Here are the details of the amendment:

(b) Protecting the Right of Individuals To Bear Arms in Units of the National Park System and the National Wildlife Refuge System.–The Secretary of the Interior shall not promulgate or enforce any regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm including an assembled or functional firearm in any unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System if–

(1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm; and

(2) the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the State in which the unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System is located.

So essentially you’ll still have to follow the respective state laws covering concealed carry.

 

[RyanDean]

As i understand it... Califirnia's National Parks are a gun free zone "FREE FIRE" zone more like it. If i am wrong let me know.

 

[NavyLCDR]

As i understand it... Califirnia's National Parks are a gun free zone "FREE FIRE" zone more like it. If i am wrong let me know.

Letting you know that you are wrong. National Parks in California are no more or no less gun free than the rest of the state. What is legal standing outside the gate of the National Park is legal inside the gate of the National Park. There is no California law that says otherwise.